Ten California WIC agencies participated in this study: five intervention and five control. Intervention agencies participated in the 2005 Finding the Teacher Within Training Project and implemented LCE principles and practices in their fruit and vegetable nutrition classes. Control agencies used their usual teaching methods in their fruit and vegetable education classes.

At the end of the study, it was found that the learner-centered teaching approach had several distinct advantages over the traditional education classes:

WIC participants in learner-centered classes were more likely to report changing their eating behaviors related to fruit and vegetable consumption.

[Using a learner-centered approach, the teacher] “asked us for our opinions, and that was fine because we learn more when we are talking… I think that is why I felt comfortable, because she gave us the confidence that we could say to her what we were thinking.”

--WIC participant who attended an LCE fruit and vegetable class

WIC teachers using a learner-centered approach were more satisfied with the WIC nutrition education teaching experience.

“I've enjoyed classes that participants teach others something, and they feel part of a group.”“Using interactive learning technique really makes teaching a joy.”

Recommendations

We recommend, on the basis of this study, that WIC agencies and other similar programs offering nutrition education consider integrating learner-centered principles and practices into their programs. Nutrition education classes need to emphasize participants’ learning needs. Additionally, this study points to the importance of training and ongoing support for WIC teachers and WIC leadership in order to implement and sustain this approach to education.